(Another) AP byline strike?

I've noticed the last couple of days that photographers aren't putting their credit on a lot of AP photos. Also some NCAA gamers do not have bylines where one would be expected, such as the Morehead State-Louisville game. Is there a byline strike going on?

(Apparently there was one last year to protest cuts. So I updated the thread title.)

 

Re: AP byline strike?

Some of our D.C. copy is byline-less, too, so I'd say yes.

 

Is there anything more meaningless than a byline strike? I've always thought it hurts the writer more than anything.

 

... does it matter if there is a name on there, really?

 

I saw a tweet by AP writer Sandy Cohen (covers entertainment) that there is indeed a byline strike in the U.S. this week:

@APSANDY Associated Press writers in the United States are on a byline strike this week to help urge AP to give us a fair contract. #newsmediaguild

 

The real question is a news organization less likely to use the story because a byline isn't on it? Probably not. So they aren't really helping themselves.

 

When the "doing the work but not taking credit" tactic doesn't work, they intend to escalate to "doing the work but not cashing the paychecks." And heaven help management if the workers go nuclear and try "doing more work than usual and also paying the company for the privilege."

 

Never understood what the purpose of a byline strike involved. Being fairly close to the border, we run a decent amount of Canadian stuff and it never had a byline because it's all from Canadian Press. So what? Does any reader really care?

 

Just ask Squidward and SpongeBob how their strike went.

 

AP management likes every story on the digest to have a byline, so the Guild believes that the byline strike is effective. Plus, AP policy says that a byline has to be on any story that uses anonymous sources, so withholding the byline puts the AP at a competitive disadvantage to other outlets.

When I was an AP manager, a Guild staffer told me about the byline strike and said that I had better hope nothing happened that day in our territory that would merit being on the national digest. I couldn't help but chuckle, because I'm of the camp that believes that nobody cares if there's a byline on a particular story. It's a meaningless tactic, but if it makes the Guild think they're doing something meaningful, then have at it, guys.

 

Maybe if the AP writers did something more impactful like using their sick days on Super Bowl week, they'd get the message across better.

 

People don't care about bylines. They care even less about photo credits. How many people out there scour the paper for a Knicks photo by Frank Franklin II? They want the photo; they don't care who shot it.